Download or read book Apoha written by Mark Siderits and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When we understand that something is a pot, is it because of one property that all pots share? This seems unlikely, but without this common essence, it is difficult to see how we could teach someone to use the word "pot" or to see something as a pot. The Buddhist apoha theory tries to resolve this dilemma, first, by rejecting properties such as "potness" and, then, by claiming that the element uniting all pots is their very difference from all non-pots. In other words, when we seek out a pot, we select an object that is not a non-pot, and we repeat this practice with all other items and expressions. Writing from the vantage points of history, philosophy, and cognitive science, the contributors to this volume clarify the nominalist apoha theory and explore the relationship between apoha and the scientific study of human cognition. They engage throughout in a lively debate over the theory's legitimacy. Classical Indian philosophers challenged the apoha theory's legitimacy, believing instead in the existence of enduring essences. Seeking to settle this controversy, essays explore whether apoha offers new and workable solutions to problems in the scientific study of human cognition. They show that the work of generations of Indian philosophers can add much toward the resolution of persistent conundrums in analytic philosophy and cognitive science.
Download or read book Dign ga on Perception written by Dignāga and published by Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1968 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dignaga s Investigation of the Percept written by Douglas Duckworth and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-03 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While a short work of only eight verses and a three-page autocommentary, the Investigation of the Percept has inspired epistemologists for centuries and has had a wide-ranging impact in India, Tibet, and China. Dignaga, one of the major figures in Buddhist epistemology, explores issues such as the relation between the mind and its percepts, the problems of idealism and realism, and the nature of intentionality in this brief but profound text. This volume provides a comprehensive history of the text in India and Tibet from 5th century India to the present day. This team of philologists, historians of religion and philosophers who specialize in Tibetan, Sanskrit and Chinese philosophical literature has produced the first study of the text and its entire commentarial tradition. Their approach makes it possible to employ the methods of critical philology and cross-cultural philosophy to provide readers with a rich collection of studies and translations, along with detailed philosophical analyses that open up the intriguing implications of Dign=aga's thought and demonstrate the diversity of commentarial approaches to his text. The comprehensive nature of the work reveals the richness of commentary in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism and shows surprising parallels between the modern West and traditional Buddhist philosophy.
Download or read book Buddhists Brahmins and Belief written by Daniel Anderson Arnold and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Buddhists, Brahmins, and Belief, Dan Arnold examines how the Brahmanical tradition of Purva Mimamsa and the writings of the seventh-century Buddhist Madhyamika philosopher Candrakirti challenged dominant Indian Buddhist views of epistemology. Arnold retrieves these two very different but equally important voices of philosophical dissent, showing them to have developed highly sophisticated and cogent critiques of influential Buddhist epistemologists such as Dignaga and Dharmakirti. His analysis--developed in conversation with modern Western philosophers like William Alston and J. L. Austin--offers an innovative reinterpretation of the Indian philosophical tradition, while suggesting that pre-modern Indian thinkers have much to contribute to contemporary philosophical debates. In logically distinct ways, Purva Mimamsa and Candrakirti's Madhyamaka opposed the influential Buddhist school of thought that emphasized the foundational character of perception. Arnold argues that Mimamsaka arguments concerning the "intrinsic validity" of the earliest Vedic scriptures are best understood as a critique of the tradition of Buddhist philosophy stemming from Dignaga. Though often dismissed as antithetical to "real philosophy," Mimamsaka thought has affinities with the reformed epistemology that has recently influenced contemporary philosophy of religion. Candrakirti's arguments, in contrast, amount to a principled refusal of epistemology. Arnold contends that Candrakirti marshals against Buddhist foundationalism an approach that resembles twentieth-century ordinary language philosophy--and does so by employing what are finally best understood as transcendental arguments. The conclusion that Candrakirti's arguments thus support a metaphysical claim represents a bold new understanding of Madhyamaka.
Download or read book Recognizing Reality written by Georges B. J. Dreyfus and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1997-01-01 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dreyfus examines the central ideas of Dharmakīrti, one of the most important Indian Buddhist philosophers, and their reception among Tibetan thinkers. During the golden age of ancient Indian civilization, Dharmakīrti articulated and defended Buddhist philosophical principles. He did so more systematically than anyone before his time (the seventh century CE) and was followed by a rich tradition of profound thinkers in India and Tibet. This work presents a detailed picture of this Buddhist tradition and its relevance to the history of human ideas. Its perspective is mostly philosophical, but it also uses historical considerations as they relate to the evolution of ideas.
Download or read book Foundations of Dharmakirti s Philosophy written by John D. Dunne and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-06-15 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dharmakirti is a central figure in the history of Buddhist philosophy.
Download or read book Buddhist Philosophy of Language in India written by Lawrence J. McCrea and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jnanasrimitra (975-1025) was regarded by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists as the most important Indian philosopher of his generation. His theory of exclusion combined a philosophy of language with a theory of conceptual content to explore the nature of words and thought. Jnanasrimitra's theory informed much of the work accomplished at Vikramasila, a monastic and educational complex instrumental to the growth of Buddhism. His ideas were also passionately debated among successive Hindu and Jain philosophers. This volume marks the first English translation of Jnanasrimitra's Monograph on Exclusion, a careful, critical investigation into language, perception, and conceptual awareness. Featuring the rival arguments of Buddhist and Hindu intellectuals, among other thinkers, the Monograph reflects more than half a millennium of competing claims while providing an invaluable introduction to a crucial philosopher. Lawrence J. McCrea and Parimal G. Patil familiarize the reader with the author, themes, and topics of the text and situate Jnanasrimitra's findings within his larger intellectual milieu. Their clear, accessible, and accurate translation proves the influence of Jnanasrimitra on the foundations of Buddhist and Indian philosophy.
Download or read book Dignaga on the Interpretation of Signs written by R.P. Hayes and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhist philosophy in India in the early sixth century C. E. took an important tum away from the traditional methods of explaining and systematizing the teachings in Siitra literature that were attributed to the Buddha. The new direction in which several Indian Buddhist philosophers began to move was that of following reasoning to its natural conclusions, regardless whether the conclusions conflicted with traditional teachings. The central figure in this new movement was DiIinaga, a native of South India who found his way to the centre of Buddhist education at Nalanda, studied the treatises that were learned by the Buddhist intellectuals of his day, and eventually wrote works of his own that formed the core of a distinctly new school of Buddhist thought. Inasmuch as virtually every Indian philosopher after the sixth century had either to reject Dirinaga's methods or build upon the foundations provided by his investigations into logic, epistemology and language, his influence on the evolution of Indian philosophy was considerable, and indeed some familiarity with Dirinaga's arguments and conclusions is indispensable for anyone who wishes to understand the historical development of Indian thought. Moreover, since the approach to Buddhism that grew out of Dirinaga's meditations on language and the limits of knowledge dominated the minds of many of the scholars who took Buddhism to Tibet, some familiarity with Dirinaga is also essential to those who wish to understand the intellectual infrastructure of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice.
Download or read book Classical Indian Philosophy written by Peter Adamson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri present a lively introduction to one of the world's richest intellectual traditions: the philosophy of classical India. They begin with the earliest extant literature, the Vedas, and the explanatory works that these inspired, known as Upaniṣads. They also discuss other famous texts of classical Vedic culture, especially the Mahābhārata and its most notable section, the Bhagavad-Gīta, alongside the rise of Buddhism and Jainism. In this opening section, Adamson and Ganeri emphasize the way that philosophy was practiced as a form of life in search of liberation from suffering. Next, the pair move on to the explosion of philosophical speculation devoted to foundational texts called 'sutras,' discussing such traditions as the logical and epistemological Nyāya school, the monism of Advaita Vedānta, and the spiritual discipline of Yoga. In the final section of the book, they chart further developments within Buddhism, highlighting Nagārjuna's radical critique of 'non-dependent' concepts and the no-self philosophy of mind found in authors like Dignāga, and within Jainism, focusing especially on its 'standpoint' epistemology. Unlike other introductions that cover the main schools and positions in classical Indian philosophy, Adamson and Ganeri's lively guide also pays attention to philosophical themes such as non-violence, political authority, and the status of women, while considering textual traditions typically left out of overviews of Indian thought, like the Cārvaka school, Tantra, and aesthetic theory as well. Adamson and Ganeri conclude by focusing on the much-debated question of whether Indian philosophy may have influenced ancient Greek philosophy and, from there, evaluate the impact that this area of philosophy had on later Western thought.
Download or read book The Buddhist Theory of Self Cognition written by Zhihua Yao and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-09-10 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This highly original work explores the concept of self-awareness or self-consciousness in Buddhist thought. Its central thesis is that the Buddhist theory of self-cognition originated in a soteriological discussion of omniscience among the Mahasamghikas, and then evolved into a topic of epistemological inquiry among the Yogacarins. To illustrate this central theme, this book explores a large body of primary sources in Chinese, Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan, most of which are presented to an English readership for the first time. It makes available important resources for the study of the Buddhist philosophy of mind.
Download or read book Mipham s Sword of Wisdom written by Khenchen Palden Sherab and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 343 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents the Nyingma-lineage understanding of valid cognition in Buddhism. Its core subject is the Buddhist view of the two truths—the relative truth of conventional appearances and the absolute truth of emptiness and buddha nature—and how the two truths are inseparable. The main questions posed are: How can we know the two truths and how can we be certain that our knowledge is accurate? “The great scholar and advanced spiritual master Jamgon Mipham’s Sword of Wisdom is a classic work that explicates valid cognition. I am happy to see it now available in English with commentary and scholarly appendices that will be very helpful for serious students in understanding this profound and important text.”—His Holiness the Sakya Trichen Mipham’s Sword of Wisdom explores the Nyingma-lineage understanding of valid cognition in Vajrayana Buddhism. This translation, a clear and concise primer on higher realization through valid cognition in Buddhist philosophy, presents these ideas in English for the very first time and includes the sutra presentation of the two truths and the tantra teachings of the two truths as the purity and equality of all phenomena. When you’ve finished Mipham’s Sword of Wisdom, you’ll have rich insights into Nyingma teachings on valid cognition, a profound new understanding of the two truths and their inseparability, a solid foundation in valid cognition through direct perception and reasoning according to the traditional Indian treatises of Dharmakirti and Dignaga, and much more.
Download or read book Dignaga on Perception Being the Pratyaksapariccheda of Dignaga s Pramanasamuccaya from the Sanskrit Fragments and the Tibetan Versions written by Dignaga and published by . This book was released on 1974-07 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Sanskrit and Indian Studies written by M. Nagatomi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the Subhdsitaratnakosa, Verse No. 1729: vahati na pural) kascit pasclill na ko 'py anuyati mam na ca navapadak~ul)l)o marga!) katham nv aham ekaka!) bhavatu viditam purvavyu.
Download or read book Wilfrid Sellars and Buddhist Philosophy written by Jay L. Garfield and published by Routledge Studies in American Philosophy. This book was released on 2018 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this book is to address the relevance of Wilfrid Sellars' philosophy to understanding topics in Buddhist philosophy. While contemporary scholars of Buddhism often take Sellars as a touchstone for philosophical analysis, and while many take Sellars' corpus as their entrée into current philosophical discourse, fewer contemporary philosophers have crossed the bridge in the other direction, using Sellarsian ideas as a way of entering into Buddhist philosophy. The essays in this volume, written by both philosophers and Buddhist Studies scholars, are divided into two sections organized around two of Sellars' essays that have been particularly influential in Buddhist Studies: "Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man" and "Empiricism and the Philosophy of Mind." The chapters in Part I generally address questions concerning the two truths, while those in Part II concern issues in epistemology and philosophy of mind. The volume will be of interest to Sellars scholars, to scholars interested in the contemporary interaction of Buddhist philosophy and Western philosophy and to scholars of Buddhist Studies.
Download or read book Empty Vision written by David McMahan and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-19 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Visual metaphors in a number of Mahayana sutras construct a discourse in which visual perception serves as a model for knowledge and enlightenment. In the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) and other Mahayana literature, immediate access to reality is symbolized by vision and set in opposition to language and conceptual thinking, which are construed as obscuring reality. In addition to its philosophical manifestations, the tension between vision and language also functioned as a strategy of legitimation in the struggle of the early heterodox Mahayana movement for authority and legitimacy. This emphasis on vision also served as a resource for the abundant mythical imagery in Mahayana sutras, imagery that is ritualized in Vajrayana visualization practices. McMahan brings a wide range of literature to bear on this issue, Including a rare analysis of the lavish imagery of the Gandavyuha Sutra in its Indian context. He concludes with a discussion of Indian approaches to visuality in the light of some recent discussions of "ocularcentrism" in the west, inviting scholars to expand the current discussion of vision and its roles in constructing epistemic systems and cultural practices beyond its exclusively European and American focus.
Download or read book A History of Buddhist Philosophy written by David J. Kalupahana and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 1992-03-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David J. Kalupahana's Buddhist Philosophy: A Historical Analysis has, since its original publication in 1976, offered an unequaled introduction to the philosophical principles and historical development of Buddhism. Now, representing the culmination of Dr. Kalupahana's thirty years of scholarly research and reflection, A History of Buddhist Philosophy builds upon and surpasses that earlier work, providing a completely reconstructed, detailed analysis of both early and later Buddhism.
Download or read book Knowledge and Liberation written by Anne Carolyn Klein and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 1987-01-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Buddhist philosophy is concerned with defining and overcoming the limitations and errors of perception. To do this is essential to Buddhism's purpose of establishing a method for attaining liberation. Conceptual thought in this view can lead to a liberating understanding, a transformative religious experience. The author discusses the workings of both direct and conceptual cognition, drawing on a variety of Tibetan and Indian texts. The Gelukba interpretation of Dignaga and Dharmakirti is greatly at variance with virtually all other scholarship concerning these seminal Buddhist logicians.
